Birthday month and first month of eligibility for Social Security benefits

Submitted by fairira on Fri, 2020-06-12 19:06

Please advise if this or is not correct. Eligibility for age 62 Social Security benefits begins in the month AFTER that birthday and first benefits are paid in the month after that.  E.g., if 62nd birthday is July 26, August is the first month of eligibility for benefits which will be paid in September. But, eligibility for age 65 or 70 Social Security benefits begins IN the month of that birthday with benefits that are paid in the following month. E.g., if this birthday is July 26, July is the first month of eligibility for benefits which will be paid in August. Thank you.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2020-06-12 20:13

  • That’s basically correct, except for some arcane rules. For claiming at 62, you must be 62 for the entire month but for all claiming purposes you are treated as attaining an age the day prior. Therefore, if your DOB in on the second of the month, you are treated as reaching age 62 on the first and therefore are considered to be 62 the entire month, and you would be paid for that month in the following month. 
  • For the FRA or other year after 62, your effective month is the month IN WHICH you attain the age, but attaining an age is still backdated one day. So if you claim at 66, if your birthday is the first of the month, you are still treated as attaining that age on the last day of the prior month, so you would be paid for that prior month in the current month.

Submitted by Bruce Steiner on Sat, 2020-06-20 16:40

  • You always attain an age on the day before your birthday.  For example, if you were born on November 4, 2002, you’ll attain age 18 on November 3, 2020, so you may vote in this year’s election on November 3, 2020.
  • That’s because the law disregards parts of a day.  If you were born on November 4, 2002, you will have completed your first full year of life on November 3, 2003, and so on, until you’ll complete your 18th full year of life on November 3, 2020.  Your birthday is the first day of your next year of life.

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